It’s official:  holiday time is here.  People are making all kinds of special foods that are homemade only during this time of year!

I like to make candy – all kinds of candy.  One of those kinds is pepper jelly candy.

It’s easy, but if you’re being “helped” by small children, keep them away from the hot mixture!  Be sure, too, that your small children understand that pepper jelly candy isn’t as sweet as regular candy.

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons white sugar; keep the tablespoon handy!

1/3 cup fruit juice – anything except orange, because that’s another ingredient

1/3 cup pepper jelly – any flavor

2/3 cup orange juice

8 tablespoons corn syrup; keep another tablespoon handy!  (not the same one)

8 tablespoons gelatin, unflavored, and use still another tablespoon

(all of those tablespoons will be used several times, so don’t try to use just one for everything!)

Food coloring, if you think you need it, but you probably won’t unless you want really vivid candy.

What to do:

This can be a little complicated, so be sure you read through before you start. 

Spray an 8 x 8 pan with water – NOT oil!

Put 4 tablespoons of the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water to soften for about five minutes.

Put the fruit juice, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and 4 tablespoons of the corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Don’t step away from the pan.

This is the time for the food coloring if you want it.

Pour this mixture into the water-sprayed pan and let it set, about an hour in the refrigerator.

Do this again with the orange juice, 6 tablespoons of sugar, and 4 tablespoons of corn syrup, simmering until the sugar dissolves.  Again, don’t leave the pan unattended.

Stir in the gelatin until it dissolves.  Let this mixture cool, in the pan, for about ten minutes.

Remove first pan from ‘fridge.  Pour second mixture over first mixture and put it back in the refrigerator for another hour.

Once your pan’s contents have set, remove it from the ‘fridge and cut it into any shapes you desire; my kids like worms.  You can also use your holiday cookie cutters; there are always volunteers to eat up the scraps.

This is a very pretty, two-layered, two-colored candy.  It’s soft and easy to eat, but if you plan to let your toddlers try it, be prepared: remember, it’s made with pepper jelly, and will have a bit of a “bite” to it.

It’s absolutely delicious.  Very UN-typical flavor, and my family is crazy about it.

This very different candy makes a fantastic gift, too.  Keep that in mind!

Tomorrow is Black Friday at most stores; lines started forming even before midnight!  People set their alarm clocks for 3 a.m., so they could bundle up and stand in long, cold lines for hours and hours, trying to score that perfect, unique, and desired gift for someone.

Texas Pepper Jelly has a better idea!  In fact, this idea comes straight from the big boss himself: Craig Sharry, and it’s a really, really GOOD idea!  Here, directly from the Texas Pepper Jelly website, is Craig’s message:

Tomorrow is Black Friday.  According to most retail reports it is the biggest shopping day of the year.  It is a time that you can save a lot of money thanks to the large discounts that are offered.  The trick to this is you have to be willing to brave the massive crowds to take advantage on most specials that are offered.  Along with that you have to fight traffic, spend more on fuel and run to a dozen different stores looking for that special gift for someone.

Texas Pepper Jelly takes you away from all of that.  Just shop from home where it is comfortable.  You can have that second cup of coffee, wear your slippers and rest easy knowing that you have found the perfect gift for the person that is so hard to buy for.

Here at Texas Pepper Jelly we want  to get in on the Black Friday craze and give our customers the chance to save money just like the big stores.  For one day we will be offering a a 20% discount on every item that we sell.  All you have to do is use the coupon code word “black”.  It is that easy.  When you are ready to check out just type the word “black” in the coupon code box and you will receive a 20% discount off your order.  What a deal.  And you get to do it all from the comfort of your own home.

But remember, this is for one day only.  On Friday November 27, you can save 20% off on all of our merchandise.  So do not waste any more time.  Order your Christmas gifts today.

A great thing about Texas Pepper Jelly is that it is quick and easy to use.. Another thing that is quick and easy is our newsletter sign up. Tell your friends about it. Tell them it’s free. Then they can get their own copy every month. Plus, anyone who subscribes today, will immediately be sent a free sample of our Country Sweet Texas Heat cookbook. These exclusive recipes will have your friends and family wanting you to cook all of their meals.

Be sure to watch for next month’s newsletter. There is a good chance we will be introducing another new product. I hate to talk about it too much so be sure to watch for your copy next month.

As always thank you for shopping at Texas Pepper Jelly.

Until next month,

Craig Sharry

P.S.  Why not sign up for the Texas Pepper Jelly newsletter right now?  It’s full of great ideas, recipes, and information.

Our newsletter signup is quick and easy. And it’s FREE! Do your friends and family a favor, pass this newsletter along so they can sign up today. Did I mention it’s FREE ?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we here at Texas Pepper Jelly hope that your holiday is a safe and happy one.  We hope you all are breaking bread with family or friends, and that when the day is over, you are all enriched by the fellowship.

Let me also add that almost anything on your holiday table can be made even better by putting a little Texas Pepper Jelly on it, or in it, or around it.  Dip things into the pepper jelly.  Spread pepper jelly on things.  Use pepper jelly instead of salad dressing, or regular jelly.

Texas Pepper Jellies are delicious on hot rolls or biscuits.  Some pepper jelly in your pasta salad turns ordinary noodles into something festive.  Mix a little pepper jelly into your dressing, before baking, and you’ll have something almost too delicious to be real.

Why settle for plain coffee or tea at your Thanksgiving table?  Stir some pepper jelly into your hot drinks and let it melt, and you’ve got a real treat.

Look around at your Thanksgiving table, in fact, and you’ll see many places a dab or two or pepper jelly would make a positive difference.

Make it easy on yourself and your guests; put some Texas Pepper Jelly on the table and let your guests use it however they wish.  I can’t think of a single limitation for it!

Happy Thanksgiving from Texas Pepper Jelly.

When you’re feeding a crowd, few main dishes are as inexpensive and easy to prepare as turkey!

This year, why not do something a little different with your turkey?

Now, those of you who get our Texas Pepper Jelly newsletter (It’s easy to subscribe, and absolutely free!  Plus, if you act now, you’ll get a lot of extras, also free, with the newsletter.)  already know about our recipe for baked – or smoked – ham made with our rubs and our Texas Pepper Jelly.

So, this post won’t repeat that.  Instead, we’ll talk turkey. 

I know that many people like to put the turkey in a smoker, or deep-fry it, etc, but I like to bake mine in a regular oven, in a roasting bag.  The roasting bags keep the moisture IN the turkey, and you’ll end up with a genuinely delicious, moist main dish for your holiday table.

I like to keep it simple, too.  My turkey is stuffed with onion and apple slices. (Don’t peel the apples!)  The flavors sort of seep up through the turkey and make the whole bird taste absolutely wonderful.

Now, this next step is the one that will give your turkey a truly unique flavor this year: put your hand in a baggie and wipe Texas Pepper Jelly all over the turkey.  Put some INSIDE the turkey, too, with the onions and apples.  Use a lot.  I’m using Pineapple Habanero on mine, but any flavor of Texas Pepper Jelly will work.  Put your stuffed and covered turkey in the roasting bag, fasten the ends, put a few venting holes in the bag, put it in your oven, and go put the green beans on your stovetop.  My family likes green beans that have been simmering almost all day, with a piece or two of raw bacon, a diced onion, and a little salt.

When your turkey is done, remove it from the oven and let it “set” for about a half hour.  Then remove it from the bag, put some more pepper jelly on it, and get a volunteer to “pick it.”  That’s how we serve it in Indiana.  Mmm, delicious.

Why give your friends and family the same old things year after year when it’s so easy to give them gifts they would genuinely love and use?

Texas Pepper Jelly has a full page of awesome gifts, any one of which would hit the spot with everyone you know.

You can even choose your own flavors of pepper jelly!  No other company lets its customers do that; everybody else’s gift packages are pre-packed and you have to take what they tell you to take.

Not Texas Pepper Jelly!  All of our products are made fresh with each order, and you can pick your choice of flavors and tell US what to pack up for you!  You’re the boss at Texas Pepper Jelly!

We ship fast, and we aim to please.  Check out our customer satisfaction policy, straight from the CEO himself:

Your satisfaction is assured through our no risk, you-can’t-lose, 100%, no-questions-asked, iron-clad money back guarantee. If for any reason, you aren’t thrilled and satisfied with our product, send the unused portion back postage prepaid within 30 days and we’ll refund 100% of your purchase price. No hard feelings.

What we are saying is, don’t wait to decide if this product is for you. Order it now! If it does not do everything we said, if it doesn’t work for you, you have nothing to worry about because you can get 100% refund on the purchase price of the product. Now you have no reason to put off not ordering from Texas Pepper Jelly.

We are busy people.  For busy people, a crockpot, or slow cooker, can be your best friend!  I know for a fact that MY family is grateful for the crockpot this weekend, because ours is full of Texas Pepper Jelly’s Pepper Chicken, and the entire house smells like a dream, the kind of dream you never want to wake up from because it’s just too wonderful. . . .

Look what we’re having for dinner tonight!  I took this picture just before putting the lid on the cooker and walking away from it.

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken breasts (you can use any kind of chicken pieces you want)
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 large onion
1 cup Raspberry Chipotle Salsa

What to do:

Throw it all in your crockpot, turn the dial to ‘low,’ and walk away. If you’re preparing this the night before, go to bed. If you’re preparing this in the morning, go to work, or go shopping, or go outside to play with your kids. Watch tv. Nap. The point is, you don’t have to do anything else to this meal except eat it, 8 hours later.

Don’t count on any leftovers.

If you are looking for a unique holiday gift for someone, look no further!  You’ve come to the right place!

Texas Pepper Jelly has a full page of fantastic, delicious holiday sampler packs that would be wonderful presents for your friends and family.  Our sampler packs are different from all others, because you get to choose whatever flavor of pepper jelly you like best, making our sampler packs genuinely personalized! Choose from several holiday-themed tins, Texas Lone Star tins,and bamboo or wicker baskets, all filled with jars of assorted pepper jellies.

Choose the same kind of pepper jelly for all of your jars, or two, or three!  Choose a different kind of pepper jelly for each jar!

You can have it any way you like, for each order is made fresh, guaranteeing that Texas Pepper Jelly is the best pepper jelly in the world.

Along with your choice of holiday sampler, why not include a Texas Pepper Jelly shirt for your pepper jelly-loving friend?

The upcoming holidays mean that many of us will soon be fixing meals for a lot of people!

Your crockpot is your best friend when you’ve got a crowd, you know.  Texas Pepper Jelly’s Crockpot Ribs or Chicken is a timesaver, a labor saver, a lifesaver, and darn delicious!

Ingredients:

4 pounds – approx. – of any chicken parts your family prefers – skinned – OR, 4 pounds of pork ribs

1 bottle of Texas Pepper Jelly’s Apple cherry habanero Grilling Sauce

2 tart apples, peeled and quartered

Ten or so tart cherries, seeded and stemmed

1 cup thinly sliced onions

1/4 cup water

What to do:

Cover the bottom of the crockpot with the sliced onions.  On top of them, put everything else.  You can even use pork and chicken together if you wish!  Turn the crockpot dial to “low.”

Then go about your business for about 8 hours.

All throughout the day you’ll smell something fantastic; everyone who enters your home will be anticipating dinner with great delight.

You’ll have a genuine Feast of Friday when you open the crockpot lid.

Mmmm, crockpot meals.  So good-smelling IN the cooker, and so good-tasting in your plates.

With the holidays approaching, many people are getting out their recipes for that old standby: green bean casserole.

Not that there’s anything WRONG with that!  Green bean casserole is great!

However, Texas Green Bean Casserole is greater.  Why not try something a little different, yet a little the same, for your holiday table this year?

Texas Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

8 cups cooked green beans (fresh, frozen, canned. . . any kind.)

One 6-oz. can of french fried onions

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (don’t add liquid to it!)

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup Texas Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly

What to do:

Mix everything except 1/2 cup on onions in a 3-quart casserole dish.

Bake at 350 for about a half hour; after 20 minutes, it’s good to check regularly.  Ovens differ.

Top with remaining onions.

As always with any Texas Pepper Jelly recipe, STAND BACK.  Oh, and don’t count on having leftovers.

Everybody loves to get a gift certificate!  A gift certificate is the PERFECT GIFT!

Gift certificates are always a wonderful present to give someone; you get         to choose the ‘category’ but the recipient gets to choose the ’specifics!’

Texas Pepper Jelly now has gift certificates! YES, you can now give the gift of choice to those you love, with a Texas Pepper Jelly gift certificate.

You can purchase your certificate in either $25, $50, $75 or $100 amounts. Our certificates do not have an expiration date. After your purchase we will mail you an actual certificate. All you will have to do is enter the gift certificate number during checkout. If the complete amount is not used, that’s ok. Our fancy shopping cart keeps up with what you spend and any remaining balance can be used on future purchases.

Don’t be nervous about shopping online, either.  Remember: Texas Pepper Jelly has buySafe!

Our customers can also use their PayPal accounts here; it’s easy as can be to shop at Texas Pepper Jelly – all the more reason to do all of your holiday shopping with us!